Just a week after he signed a railroad labor agreement opposed by some union organizations, President Biden revealed on Thursday that he will inject $36 billion into a union pension plan to prevent significant benefit cuts for pensioners, Fox News informed.
According to the White House, the news represents the largest federal grant for retiree pensions in history and is funded by Vice President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. The Central States Pension Fund, which mostly serves Teamster union members, will get the $36 billion.
About half of the government monies available under the American Rescue Plan for pension relief are represented by the $36 billion.
The pension fund, which has 350,000 members and was at risk of cuts of up to 60%, will now remain stable until at least 2051, according to the White House.
According to Biden, thousands of union retirees and employees in states like Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri may finally go to bed tonight confident that their pension, for which they toiled so arduously, will be there when they need it. Along with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, he spoke at the White House.
A week after reaching a labor agreement with railroad firms that excluded paid sick leave, Biden made his statement. Four unions, including the Teamsters maintenance union, argued that the agreement needed to include more paid sick days, but Congress ultimately decided against it in order to prevent a strike.
Republican strategist Giancarlo Sopo claimed that Biden’s selection is an attempt to make amends with his union allies after disappointing them last week.
Sopo reported for Fox News Digital that after failing to fight for the paid sick leave that workers desired and, quite simply, deserved, Joe Biden is using taxpayer funds as his political political piggyback to ease his tensions with the Teamsters.
The timing of the announcement, according to the White House, was determined by a deadline of December 10 for pension assistance grants.
The largest award made under the Special Financial Assistance program, according to the White House, is why they are drawing attention to it.
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